A number of cities around Slovenia will encourage people to choose to ride their bike or walk instead of taking the car during the 16-22 September European Mobility Week. Numerous events will be organised and many cities will close their centres for car traffic for at least a day.
This year 50 of the more than 200 Slovenian municipalities are taking part in the European Mobility Week campaign, a significant improvement over the 32 that took part last year.
This year's Mobility Week will run under the motto "Choose. Change. Combine." to raise awareness that often taking the car to just about anywhere was an automatism indicating that people do not really consider other - better, faster and greener - alternatives.
The campaign is supported by the National Institute for Public Health. People often claim that they do not have the time to be physically active but at the same time they take their car even to the grocery store around the corner, according to Janet Klara Djomba of the institute.
The capital Ljubljana has long been among the most active Mobility Week cities.
Having already permanently closed large parts of its city centre for car traffic, it relaunched on Tuesday a overhauled and expanded park-and-ride car park in the Dolgi most borough and on it will open a new park-and-ride car park in the Barje outskirts on Monday.
One of Ljubljana's biggest projects during this year's mobility week will be the introduction of parking fee payments via SMS messages.
Maribor has recently banned cars from one of the main streets through the city centre, which will now be the venue of a number of entertainment and sports events. The city will also organise an event demonstrating alternative fuel vehicles.
One of the countries oldest towns, Ptuj will open on 22 September an EU-funded park-and-ride car park.
Novo mesto has been providing free-of charge bus transport since the start of September, while Koper will organise a charity cycling marathon with the collection going to for the Soča rehabilitation centre.
In Črna na Koroškem, the municipality employees will walk or ride their bikes to work to set an example.
Source: TheSloveniaTimes
